Thoughts on Facebook Ads

Social media are all about experimentation, there is no direct way to success, so in the spirit of experimenting and testing, I recently partook a journey with Facebook Ads. Having very little experience with Facebook’s ad platform, I decided the best way to learn about it, was to test it out.

I tested two different pages with very low budgets on each campaign to see if there was any value on the new followers it was supposed to bring. I also had a few goals for the ads before I started, so here’s my answers from the questions I asked myself before each campaign started.

Q1. Will these campaigns get me new followers on both pages?

A1: Yes, both campaigns were successful in bringing in new followers.

Results: While yes each campaign brought in new followers, a lot of them were spam followers and followers who probably won’t engage at all on the page.

Q2: Will the new followers interact with the page?

A2: So far, no, the new followers have not interacted with any content on the page. I’ve received better followers from Facebook awareness specific email campaigns sent to my whole email list.

Results: Page numbers went up, page interaction remained stagnant.

Q3: Will page views increase?

A3: Yes, although this was not surprising since your page is getting out there more.

Results: More people are now aware of both pages, so I guess this a plus?

Q4: Will more people attend an event from using promoted events?

A4: No.

Results: While a couple people clicked yes, they would be attending, Facebook events are still at its best, an announcement tool, and less of a means of getting butts in seats.

Q5: Is it worth paying for?

A5: No.

Results: If your main goal is to get more fans who don’t interact with page content, then yes, by all means, do it. But Facebook ads, even though it was very easy to use and target your ads, provides little more than fake accounts and a few real followers.

Others may have had a better experience with your brand, but for my purposes, Facebook Ads are not really a good strategy for my needs. But don’t take my word for it, test it out yourselves and see if it works for your needs.

I will leave this post on a positive note, Facebook ads are incredibly easy to use. You can get highly targeted ads, which may or may not work, it’s all about experimentation and seeing what people are responding too. Who knows, I may revisit ads, but for now, I don’t think they’re right for my goals in social.